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Ask HN: A friend has brain cancer: any bio hacks that worked?

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Re: Ask HN: A friend has brain cancer: any bio hacks that worked?

#291

Post by UnknownFriend »

sfn42 wrote: post #272
hoppp wrote: post #237

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lsd works in the sense that it makes you not care about dying that much, the ego death helps. Combine that with ketamine for a nice anti depressant effect and you got a really good party going. Why not do mdma also to kill the ptsd, maybe a visit a psytance festival instead of the hospital? Jokes aside, its sad to prepare for death. I think drugs are not the answer, but they can help too. Depends on the people. Maybe…

Not like they have much to lose

Hallucinogenic drugs can cause very disturbing thoughts and visions. One may be left feeling afraid and insecure after taking them, losing any progress one has made toward acceptance of death.

Re: Ask HN: A friend has brain cancer: any bio hacks that worked?

#292

Post by egorfine »

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #283
egorfine wrote: post #243

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> He died of an opioid overdose I'd say this is quite far away from the top entries in the list of worst ways to go.

> this is quite far away from the top entries in the list of worst ways to go Genuine question: is it? I would have thought it's quite peaceful. Particularly since pentobarbital overdose is how we put down our pets [1]. (Not an opiate, but also renders you unconscious.) [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentobarbital#Euthanasia_and_a...

It doesn't even matter whether this is painful for the body or not because you (as in your consciousness, your mind) are not there to witness the process and experience any physical feelings.

Re: Ask HN: A friend has brain cancer: any bio hacks that worked?

#293

Post by dekhn »

d--b wrote: post #170
ausbah wrote: post #87

I know when someone’s faced with certain death they’ll do almost anything they can to survive if only for a little bit longer, but this thread full of personal antectodes and largely non-reproduced effects from random pubmed articles is the hackernews equivalent of essential oils or smth

This fucking pisses me off. The current treatments ARE essential oils, and EVERY FUCKING ONE is recommending my friend he goes through chemo, radiation therapy and risky surgery, all of which are proved to be extremely debilitating, in the sake of following the standard protocol, with a potential reward of living some weeks more. Meanwhile, it is proven that the Zika virus does kill GBM cells in humans. This is what…

Your understanding how HIV/AIDS was treated successfully is completely wrong. HIV/AIDS was treated through an absolutely enormous amount of research and a careful negotiation between the scientfic community and the diseased community.

Re: Ask HN: A friend has brain cancer: any bio hacks that worked?

#294

Post by JumpCrisscross »

egorfine wrote: post #292
JumpCrisscross wrote: post #283

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> this is quite far away from the top entries in the list of worst ways to go Genuine question: is it? I would have thought it's quite peaceful. Particularly since pentobarbital overdose is how we put down our pets [1]. (Not an opiate, but also renders you unconscious.) [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentobarbital#Euthanasia_and_a...

It doesn't even matter whether this is painful for the body or not because you (as in your consciousness, your mind) are not there to witness the process and experience any physical feelings.

> doesn't even matter whether this is painful for the body or not because you (as in your consciousness, your mind) are not there to witness the process and experience any physical feelings

We have no known way to know this.

Re: Ask HN: A friend has brain cancer: any bio hacks that worked?

#295

Post by egorfine »

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #294
egorfine wrote: post #292

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It doesn't even matter whether this is painful for the body or not because you (as in your consciousness, your mind) are not there to witness the process and experience any physical feelings.

> doesn't even matter whether this is painful for the body or not because you (as in your consciousness, your mind) are not there to witness the process and experience any physical feelings We have no known way to know this.

I believe we do, given that thousands or perhaps tens of thousands of people go into a controlled opioid coma every single day to spare experience of pain and suffering and then come back alive and well, me included. I'm talking about sedation of course.

Re: Ask HN: A friend has brain cancer: any bio hacks that worked?

#296

Post by JumpCrisscross »

isleyaardvark wrote: post #285
JumpCrisscross wrote: post #201

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> OP is explicitly asking for hacks and "out there" solutions, I think this is a reasonable place to post anecdata, papers, personal theories, etc. as long as people state their confidence level and link to sources when possible As long as OP and their friend know this is spinning wheels for fun and is pretty much certainly not going to extend their lifespan, sure. There can be satisfcation in knowing you never truly…

The post reads a bit like one of those stackoverflow questions seeking a solution to x when that’s not the problem they should be solving.

> post reads a bit like one of those stackoverflow questions seeking a solution to x when that’s not the problem they should be solving

Sort of. They're looking to be a good friend and assuage perceived helplessness in the face of a repeat foe. )=(From a clinical perspective, the most-useful observation in the thread may be the unusual frequency with which this person has seen GBM.)

More broadly, we tell the stories of Sancho following Don Quixote through windmills, or Sam following Frodo to Mordor, because loyalty over reality is itself a reality of humanity. Like Sancho or Sam, our role in that journey is less to weigh its merits and more to keep our hero from cliffs. That, however, means the person playing that role has to see clearly.

Re: Ask HN: A friend has brain cancer: any bio hacks that worked?

#299

Post by Atlas-Marbles »

anticancer wrote: post #61

I had a family member diagnosed with an aggressive cancer, and we were able to shock the doctors with their progress and recovery. Our goal was to contribute as much as we could to the treatment effort, and so we focused on diet and rest. Namely we removed all sugar and glutamine (animal products), and took care of all household tasks: cleaning, cooking, getting to appointments, etc. Each cycle when we would get the…

Identical story here. A family member followed the medication/diet/supplement protocol from that same book in conjunction with standard cancer treatment. When the surgeon took the tumor out, he was shocked that it had drastically reduced in size. Their blood markers "could not possibly be better" according to the surgeon. The surgeon said he had never seen a patient respond this positively in his career. The additional evidence-based protocols likely contributed to this result.

Even before beginning conventional treatment, the McLelland protocols reduced the cancer biomarkers. It's also worth noting that there is no universal protocol in the book. Each cancer has a different metabolism requiring a different approach.

Re: Ask HN: A friend has brain cancer: any bio hacks that worked?

#300

Post by shakna »

ionwake wrote: post #113
ibash wrote: post #110

You should ask them if they want you playing doctor. I have a chronic disease, not fatal, and totally manageable. But the most annoying thing is when someone finds out and suddenly pretends to be the expert. Of course my doctors and I investigating it for years were completely wrong! I should’ve ate more apricots! Please just check with them if they want their limited time spent like that.

dont get why that upsets you. I have had a chronic disease my whole life and one of the people who offered help completely saved my life. If anyone else told me to eat apricots Id be grateful for their time and attention. I would probably eat the apricots and tell them it was fantastic, even if it had no effect. Sorry I just have rarely seen my friends or family offer any advice. - Back to OP, Ive always remembered P…

> I would probably eat the apricots and tell them it was fantastic, even if it had no effect.

You might for the first. Maybe the second. Probably not for the fifth. Certainly not the tenth. You may be tempted to hit the fiftieth.

If everyone around you feels the need to help, and provides the same insights, because they're not experts, then they're providing you the same repeated insights that you encountered at the beginning of your journey. A journey you may already be decades into, and having the same information shoved down your throat, day after day after day.

There is a reason that "Have you tried yoga?" is a meme in the chronic illness groups. Yes, it may provide some limited help, like most exercise. But 3652 days of hearing about it, later? Your patience might not have lasted.

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